Many sports balls and game balls include an inflatable bladder and a cover or casing that surrounds the bladder. Such sports balls include, for example, volleyballs, basketballs, footballs, and soccer balls. The cover comprises a plurality of cover panels wherein each of the cover panels is usually stitched to an adjacent cover panel edge-to-edge. The present invention is directed to an improved sports ball in which the cover comprises cover panels reinforced by heat bonding a reinforcement material to the cover panels.